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Lila
I WONDERED WHEN ZOE would come for me. It felt like hours and hours had passed since I’d seen Sebastian. My panic had begun to set in. What if he had forgotten I wanted to go to the wedding? Even worse, what if he had even changed his mind about letting me go?
I still didn’t know why I needed this. All I knew was that I did need this.
Then I saw Zoe walking toward me. She was wearing a soft pink one-shoulder dress. Her short hair looked bouncier than usual, and she was carrying a big plastic bag in one hand.
“Hey,” she called out.
“Hi.” I motioned to the bag. “What’s that?”
“A dress. I know it seems a bit ridiculous, but I just thought that you might want to dress like an actual wedding guest, even though no one’s going to actually see you.”
“That doesn’t seem ridiculous at all,” I replied, shaking my head. “I think it’s... a great idea. I wouldn’t want to go wearing this.” I motioned to the loungewear I was wearing.
“I figured as much,” Zoe replied with a laugh. She handed me the bag and then turned away, giving me privacy.
I pulled out the dress. It was a short white sheath dress with silver sequins that glimmered under the light of the setting sun. “Wow, this is really pretty,” I commented as I pulled off my own clothes. As I stepped into the dress, I frowned. “Except... it’s white. Shouldn’t only the bride wear white?”
Thank goodness Alessandra wouldn’t see me, anyway. I could just envision her tearing the dress off me if she saw it.
“You’d be surprised how few vampires actually wear white on their wedding days,” Zoe replied. “Vampire brides choose a color that they feel best represents what they will bring to the coven they’re marrying into. I’m not sure what color Alessandra has chosen for her gown, but I would almost guarantee that it’s not white.”
“What makes you think that?” I asked.
“Easy. White represents purity, and Alessandra’s intentions are anything but pure. Nothing about her is pure.”
I chuckled. “Good reasoning.”
“Besides, maybe it’s my little act of rebellion, but we all know that if anyone should be wearing white, it’s you,” Zoe said quietly.
Tugging the zipper up my back, I glanced over at her. “Me?”
“Oh, please. Don’t play dumb. We all know you’re the one who Sebastian really wants to be marrying,” she replied with an eye roll.
I didn’t say anything. Even though I was smiling on the inside, I couldn’t bring myself to smile on the outside.
The reality was just too painful.
The reality was that the guy I loved was about to vow to spend his life with someone else. How could I bring myself to smile over that?
“I put shoes inside the bag, but you might want to wait until we get back to the castle before you put them on. Walking through sand in heels is not easy,” Zoe told me.
I nodded as we began to walk toward the castle together. “How long have you and Sebastian known each other?”
“Sixty years,” she replied.
“Do you know each other very well?” Once the words were out of my mouth, I realized how dumb they must have sounded. “Of course you know each other well, considering you’ve known him for sixty years. What I mean is... are you close?”
“Yeah, I guess you can say we’re pretty close.” She paused and then glanced over at me. “We’re close enough that he trusts me to know your true identity.”
“Good point,” I agreed.
She kicked up some sand with her feet. “Sebastian and I are, I guess, what you would call best friends. We can go weeks or months without speaking to each other, but when we do finally speak again... it feels like we never stopped in the first place. I know him so well that I can read him better than anyone I’ve ever known.”
I hesitated for a moment before asking her the question that was on my mind. “Zoe, am I the first girl Sebastian has ever loved?”
Her golden eyes darted over to mine. “Sebastian has been around for three-hundred years, Lila. He’s dated many girls in his lifetime.”
“Well, I figured as much. But was he ever actually in love with any of them?” I pressed.
“Yes.” She stared ahead at the castle that stood before us. After a moment of hesitation, she added, “I’m just not sure if he knows it.”
We walked the rest of the way to the castle in silence.
Once we were inside the dark passageway, we both wiped the sand off our feet. I pulled out the strappy sandals Zoe had chosen for me.
A light flicked on. It seemed to be radiating from Zoe’s hand.
I gaped at her. “You can make light?”
“Yeah, it’s a witch thing,” she replied, as though it were no big deal. “I’m going to cast the invisibility spell on you now,” she told me.
“Okay.”
I watched as she focused her gaze on me, and then through the small amount of light that fell over me, I saw it happening: my body fading away to the point where it was nearly invisible.
“We’re all set,” Zoe said a moment later. “Are you ready?” she asked as she pushed open the door that led into the palace hallway.
I nodded, except the truth was that I wasn’t ready.
I would never truly be ready to watch the guy I loved marry someone else.